What does waterway management mean, and why is it so complex?

Overview
Speaker(s)

What do we mean by “Shared Waterways” or “Waterways Management?” These terms have diverse definitions depending on the situation and user. Today’s Waterway Manager may not have that title on a business card. Instead, this role may be a local trustee, a state boating law administrator, a site manager for the federal government, or a regional watershed planning association. Waterway managers face pressure from a wide range of stakeholders, each sharing a unique perspective on how best to protect, utilize, or share the water resource. Options may range from expanding access to drive revenue and business interests to limiting access based on analysis of physical and social carrying capacities. This session will discuss how the recently-published Guide for Multiple Use Waterway Management (Third Edition)can help the vast diversity of expectations and desired outcomes facing managers today!

Risa Shimoda

Executive Director

River Management Society

Risa Shimoda supports the RMS program staff and board with a background in design engineering, consumer products marketing and non-profit leadership. She received a BS in Engineering / Product Design from Stanford University and trained as a consumer products marketer at Procter & Gamble, M&M/Mars and Coca-Cola USA before directing marketing, sales and product development for kayaks and paddlesports accessories at Perception, the world’s largest kayak manufacturer. As Executive Director of American Whitewater (AW), she and her team represented river users in the relicensing of hydropower projects and pursued the right of public access on precedent-setting cases. She pioneered corporate support for AW and developed its first event-based business model for the largest river-based annual fundraising event in the United States. An avid whitewater paddler, Risa co-founded the Outdoor Alliance and has served on the boards of the Conservation Alliance, North American Paddlesports Association, American Whitewater and Nantahala Outdoor Center.

Pam Dillon

Staff Director

Paddlesports Trade Coalition

Pam is a Certified Association Executive currently serving as Paddlesports Trade Coalition staff under a service agreement with NASBLA. Pamela Dillon previously staffed the National Boating Education Standards Panel and the Education Committee. She co-authored the Third Edition of “The Guide for Multiple Use Waterway Management.” With her husband, Virgil Chambers, she is Program Co-Manager of the Inland Boat Operation and Marine Patrol Fundamentals Train-the-Trainer course and Methods of Instructor course under NASBLA’s Boat Operation and Training (BOAT) program.

Previously, Dillon served as boating law administrator for the state of Ohio, retiring in 2011 as chief of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Watercraft. Dillon served as executive director of the American Canoe Association from 2002-2007. In addition, Dillon served two terms as an appointed member of the National Boating Safety Advisory Council is a recipient of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Distinguished Public Service Award.